Folding bed.



' No. 741,132. PATENTED OUT. 13, 1903.

W. V'HARMAN.

FOLDING BED.

, APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1903.

no MODEL.

W M Q NITED STATES Patented October 13, 1903'.

ATnNr union.

FOLDING BED.

sPEcIFIcA'rIoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 741,132, dated October 13, 1902;.

Application filed January 13, 1903. Serial No. 138,795. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom, it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, WARREN HARMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cedar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Beds, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to economize house-room by means of a folding bed; and the invention relates to mechanism by which beds of the usual type may be converted into folding beds, if desired, or the bed may be so manufactured in the first instance.

The nature of the invention will fully appear from the description and claims following, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a bed embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side View of the same in its folded position. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of one side, taken on the line a b and as seen from above. Fig. at shows a modification in the connection of the footboard with the rail. Fig. 5 shows a corner of the bed-frame.

In the conception of this invention the aim has been to devise means whereby almost any bed of the usual conventional type, either wooden or metallic, may be converted into a folding bed, and thus secure inmany homes much needed space during the day-time. The mechanism is quite as applicablein the manufacture of beds, with probably little change in structure. It has been deemed best, however, to illustrate the device as it would be applied to a bed of ordinary construction.

Referring now to the drawings, A is the headboard, and B the footboard, of a bed.

G is one of the side rails, of which of course two are provided. These, whether the original rails of the bed are used or not, should be connected at the head end by a board D wide enough to prevent the bedding from slipping out of place when the bed is turned up on end, as shown in Fig. 2. The foot should also be connected in the same way by a board E, which need not be so wide. As it is sometimes necessary to tilt the bed upwardly by lifting at one side only, the bed-frame thus formed should be as rigid as is consistent with the desired limit of weight, the corners being preferably stayed by angle-irons F. Within this rectangular frame the springand bedding are mounted in any suitable way. A strap G is provided to hold the bedding from slipping at the foot.

To each of the bed-posts is rigidly secured by bolts or screws a bracket H or H, answering to the head and foot, respectively. These, with the posts, form bases for the head and foot boards, which may thus stand erect independently. The brackets, as well as the posts, are provided with casters, as shown.

To each head-bracket at a suitable point is hinged an arm or link I, the other end of which is hinged to the adjoining rail or, preferably, to a hinge-plate J, attached thereto. This connection is some distance from the head end of the bed, so that the operator has comparatively little to lift in tilting the bedframe, as shown by the dotted lines.

Each foot-bracket is connected with each side rail by a lever K, preferably on the inner side. The connection with the rail and footboard might be direct by hinge-joints at K and K or to a depending bracket L, (shown in dotted outline,) which dropping of the joint would tend to prevent any possible binding of the end of the bed-frame and footboard in the act of folding up the bed, as will be more fully explained presently. Near the other end each lever is hinged to the footbracket, and its downwardly-bent end is provided with a stud M, on which is mounted a roller N, normally out of contact with the floor.

The operation of the device is clearly shown by the dotted outline in Fig. 1, showing the secondary position in the act of folding up the bed. This position is secured by simply raising the foot of the bed, there being little actual weight to lift and the footboard running freely on the fioor. On reaching this secondary position the point of support shifts from the pivots atJ to the head end of the bed, which at this time is supposed to rest on the floor. The operator then has more to lift; but by shifting position slightly the footboard is grasped, and by pushing it toward the headboard the bed is easily elevated to the final position. (Shown in Fig. 2.)

It is to be understood that the foot-brackets support that end of the bed when in normal position. If necessary, the bed might ILO be locked in such position to prevent the possibility of collapsing; but this may be done so simply and in so many Ways that it has not seemed necessary to illustrate it.

The purpose of the wide roller N is to take the weight of the foot off the bed and protect the floor-covering from the wear which would otherwise attend the moving of casters over nearly the same track many times. The rollers also make the movement of the footboard easier in folding the bed than would casters alone. Instead of a roller for each lever the lever at each side of the bed may be journaled to a single roller, as indicated by the dotted extension of the roller in Fig. 3, thus giving a roller-tread on the floor of practically the full width of the bed.

In Fig. 1 a dotted extension of the headboard-bracket is shown. This might be nec' essary-that is to say, it might be necessary to extend the base to prevent tipping forward of the headboard-especially if it is of light construction. It is to be noted also that the link I when in normal position rests on a lateral lug of the head-bracket H and the head of the bed is supported thereby.

The connection of the bed-rail with the footboard is shown in its simplest form in Fig. 1. As shown in the main outline, the bed would probably not fold to the secondary position Without tipping the footboard outwardly as the bed-frame rises. This may be obviated by lowering the joint connecting the lever with the rail, as by the bracket L, or by elevating the joint connecting the lever with the foot-bracket, as shown in Fig. 4. In this latter construction, which is preferable, the roller is mounted at the lower end of an arm 0, jointed to the lever and slotted at O for the necessary up-and-down movement.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A folding bed having head and foot boards, and a frame adapted to fold against the headboard with the foot end uppermost, and links pivoted atone end to the headboard and at the other end to the frame at some distance from said headboard, and normally supported by the headboard, the links remaining stationary during the primary movement of the frame in folding, and finally folding back with said frame, substantially as described.

2. In a bed having self-supporting head and foot boards and a suitable bed-frame,the combination of links connecting the headboard with the bed-frame at some distance from the head end of said frame, stop-lu gs on the headboard to support the links in a stationary position normally and during the primary movement of the bed-frame in folding, and links connecting the footboard with the bed-frame at some distance from its lower end, substantially as described.

3. In a folding bed, the combination of a headboard, a bed-frame pivotally connected therewith, a footboard, and levers pivoted to the frame and footboard, said levers being provided with a roller adapted to engage the floor and carry the foot portion of the bed in the act of folding up, substantially as described.

4. In a folding bed, the combination with the headboard and bed-frame linked together, of a footboard provided with headwardly-extending brackets adapted to support the foot of the bed-frame, and form a self-supporting base for the footboard, link-levers connecting the said frame and brackets, and normally nearly parallel with the said frame, a downwardly-extending m emberlinked to each lever, and a roller journaled at the lower ends thereof, and adapted to engage the floor as the bed is tilted and folded together, substantially as described.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a folding attachment for a bed, comprising a pair of brackets adapted for attachment to headboards, and to support the same in an upright position, a pair of brackets adapted for attachment to the footboard, and for the support of the same and of the foot end of the bed, a suitable bed-frame, and links connecting said frame with said brackets, those at the head end extending some distance toward the foot, and those at the foot end extending in the opposite direction, the headlinks forming fixed supports for the frame in the initial act of folding, and tilting up with the frame in the final act, the head of the frame then resting on or near the floor.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WARREN HARMAN.

Witnesses:

L. A. ST. JOHN, J. M. ST.-JoHN. 

